This invention relates to loading apparatus used when cargo is loaded into or unloaded from a truck. More specifically, a plurality of pieces of cargo are loaded in advance on the long forks of the apparatus of this invention, then they are transferred onto the cargo bed of the truck as a stacked group. Further, cargo on the cargo bed can be transferred to the forks and unloaded in the same stacked condition.
Presently, pallets are generally used for loading cargo onto or unloading cargo from the cargo bed of a truck. Cargo is stacked on pallets and the individual pallets are loaded from the side of the cargo bed of the truck. Similarly, cargo is removed from the sides of the cargo bed of the truck along with the pallets. The sides of the cargo bed of some trucks, for example, refrigerated trucks, do not open. Consequently, the rear door of the cargo bed must be opened and the pallets loaded inside. Loading apparatus configured to move pallets towards the front of the cargo bed have been developed.
Further, panel van trucks with cargo beds having sides that open upwards have also been developed. Panel van trucks with this configuration have the advantage that pallets loaded with cargo can be loaded or unloaded from the sides.
In the pallet system of loading and unloading, the cargo bed many pieces of cargo are stacked onto pallets beforehand and then moved. This system has the advantage that loading labor and time can be reduced. This is because the number of pallets that require loading or unloading is much smaller than the number of pieces of cargo.
The item of prime importance in the cargo transport business is how much cargo can be shipped in a given time period. Shipping time or the actual time the truck is on the road is difficult to reduce because of road and traffic conditions. Therefore, the important target for efficiency improvement is the reduction of loading and unloading time.
Loading and unloading efficiency can be improved by a system of loading and unloading cargo stacked on pallets rather than individual pieces of cargo. However, when cargo is stacked onto pallets and loaded or unloaded from the truck's cargo bed, an 11 ton large size truck normally carries two rows of seven pallets, or a total of fourteen pallets, which requires ten to twenty minutes of loading time. The efficiency of a loading system using a fork lift to move loaded pallets cannot be improved beyond this.